Do you believe that?

The exercise above is a complete lie.
It’s just made up.
Everyone is born equally creative but the older we get and the more schooling we have, the more we believe we are either academic or creative but rarely both.

This isn’t a fault with us. It’s a fault with the system of education in most western cultures. The system is still based on the 19th Century requirement for factory fodder which needed people to do as they are told, start and end work in response to a whistle or bell, not talk to each other or collaborate and accept a judgement on their aptitudes and abilities based on a very narrow set of tests.

So why do we tell our children and our staff to stop daydreaming and get on with what they are ‘told’ to do?

Do you believe that you are creative? Or do you believe that you aren’t? To paraphrase Henry Ford, whatever you believe, you’re probably right.
Lots of things could be open to you that you believe might not be.

What does this mean for you if you are running a business?

Everyone wants their business to stand out from the crowd, to be noticed and to attract customers but how do you do this if your business is basically the same as your competitors?

Telling everyone about your great customer service doesn’t work. It’s what they expect.
Telling them you are passionate about what you do, doesn’t work. Who cares except you?
Your products, your packaging or your pricing could be unique for a while but if they’re any good they’ll be copied.
Being unique is more than having a USP.
There are some great examples of people who have used their own unique style to stand out from the crowd:

The Wine Critic

Gary Vaynerchuck increased the turnover of his family business by several million dollars by recording wine reviews on YouTube. His brash, straight talking style was so different to the elite mystique of the wine world that he stood out a mile just by being himself.

The Chef

In a world of bullying, egotistical chefs braying about ‘classical training’, young Jamie Oliver, an Essex lad to the core, scruffy, almost inarticulate and severely dyslexic, made good, uncomplicated cooking available to millions of people. His vulnerability, curiosity and ability to connect to people through a shared delight in food has produced a man of exceptional values, who has grown into a great role model and a powerful campaigner for social change.

The Accountant

Accountancy isn’t usually associated with fun but if you were to meet Kelly Anstee, a beautiful young woman who likes to party and who also happens to be an accountant, you might take another view of this world. Kelly connects with people on Facebook and Twitter by talking about music, parties and social gatherings as well as her work. The warmth of her personality shines and the referrals come tumbling in. Highly qualified and competent, she is savvy enough to just be herself and not to try to fit the mould of traditional accountant and her business Tax Swag, reflects her personality and appeals to the people who share her values.

How can YOU be more innovative and imaginative to create a better future?

What untapped resources do you have, linked to your own uniqueness?

What great ideas are lurking just out of your conscious reach?

If you’d like to talk about how to make YOUR business unique, get in touch!

Why making decisions is crucial to success

Until a decision is taken, no action is possible.
It is the lack of action that causes most failures.

An analysis of over 25,000 people who had experienced some kind of failure revealed that the inability to make decisions was near the top of the list of reasons. (Napoleon Hill ‘Think and Grow Rich’)

Henry Ford was renowned for attributing his success to his ability to make decisions quickly and stick to them, often despite fierce opposition from his advisors.

Are you easily swayed by others?

If you find you constantly change your mind because you are afraid of what others might say or think about you, procrastination will cripple you and stop you from making a decision and more importantly, from taking action.

Procrastination is sometimes confused with time management but this is not really the issue.

The ability to make decisions comes back to understanding exactly what it is that you want.

Asking “Will this action take me closer to my goal?” is often all that’s need to make the decision.

Leaders in all walks of life decide quickly and firmly and the world has a habit of making room for the person who knows where they are going and why.

Have you worked out how you make decisions?

Do you work from logic, from gut instinct or do you take advice from others?

Recent studies have shown that decision making can be affected by our prejudices, our past experience and even our surroundings.

The reason that most people put off making a decision is the fear of getting it WRONG.

Procrastination leads to inaction.

Inaction leads to failure.

Failure leads to loss of confidence which make it hard to make decisions.

The only way out of this loop is to have courage, make a decision in the full knowledge that whatever happens you will deal with it and remember that most fears are about things that never happen.

If you’d like to talk about how to make the decisions that will help you to grow your business,get in touch!